


Crash Sites Keep Me Up At Night

by Catsparrow



Series: The Avengers Nightmare Club [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Dance parties, Darcy Lewis is a snarky ass motherfucker, Darcy and Jane are super best friends forever, F/M, Humor, Little bit of Fluff, Little bit of angst, mostly sass, science dance parties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-16
Updated: 2014-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-21 08:46:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2462087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catsparrow/pseuds/Catsparrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The idea for the Avengers Nightmare Club came to Darcy while she was daydreaming in one of her grad school classes.<br/>“Holy shit balls, that's perfect.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crash Sites Keep Me Up At Night

The idea for the Avengers Nightmare Club came to Darcy while she was daydreaming in one of her grad school classes.

“Holy shit balls, that's perfect.” she'd muttered to herself and her classmate Sara had given her a funny look. Darcy wrote it down in her notes and resolved to execute her plan that week.

Let's back up a little.

 

Darcy was probably (definitely) in love with probably (definitely) like nine or ten people and it was probably (definitely) Tony Stark's fault.

Well maybe like 95% his fault. She would have to calculate the exact percentage at a later date or just stick with her educated guess because math was not her strong suit. Tony had been the one to offer Jane and Darcy jobs at Stark Industries after all of the shit went down and the one who suggested they move into the newly renamed Avengers tower to take full advantage of the high tech labs and equipment.

So it was his fault that Darcy met all of the Avengers and fell in love with them in like 2.5 seconds.

Really, who wouldn't have?

Natasha was like the most badass woman Darcy had ever met and was a sneaky ninja who could basically kill you with her mind and when was that not kind of hot. Also, she was a total practical joker and along with Clint, could be counted on to have excellent prank ideas. Darcy spent many a night hatching schemes with them and carrying them out on unsuspecting S.H.I.E.L.D agents, mostly new recruits.

Steve had been unexpectedly sweet and welcoming. Darcy thought he might be kind of rigid and stuck up after all of the time he lost. Instead, he had roped her into being his guide to the 21st century and they'd spent many a night surfing the internet while Darcy explained everything from boy bands to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. It was partly Steve's eagerness to catch up on the last 70 years that led to the establishment of Avengers Nightmare Club.

Tony, mostly benign science enabler that he was, won Darcy over with his genuine interest and enthusiasm over Jane's scientific developments. Being a woman in a mostly male dominated field was tough and to have someone well known and important in your corner like Tony Stark lent credibility to Jane's work that sadly would not have swayed a lot of the scientific community much without the Stark name, though Tony made it quite clear to the world that it was Jane's research and experiments he just supplied the money to make it happen. Darcy was eternally grateful. Not to mention meeting Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark industries had been one of the defining moments in both Darcy's and Jane's careers. Certainly, in the top five and Darcy was thrilled to have yet avoided peeing her pants in the woman's presence.

And then, there was Bruce.

Sweet, sexy, shy, smart Bruce with his ruffled hair and wrinkly clothes and tendency to turn into an enormous green rage monster. Jane's personal lab was across the hall from Bruce's and when Darcy assisted Jane, she brought coffee down in the morning for her and Jane and brought Bruce a cup of tea just the way he liked it. He always thanked her with a smile and went back to work and for the first three months of living in Avengers Tower, Darcy hadn't thought much more about him beyond that. Mostly.

And then, Clint almost died.

Natasha, Clint, and Steve were raiding a suspected HYDRA facility and it turned out to be a trap. Steve was almost captured, Natasha had three broken ribs and Clint had to have emergency surgery.

Darcy couldn't sleep. She was paralyzed with the thought of losing her new family. She'd never had much of a family to lose before. Her mother died when she was young and she'd never met her father. Her only family was an aunt and uncle in Maine who'd raised her after her mother died. She got along well enough with their daughter but never had a super close best friend until Jane. Now, she had the Avengers, her brilliant, crazy, chaotic super hero family and she couldn't give them up, not now.

After trying to sleep for three hours and having continuous nightmares about all of them dying, Darcy gave up and went to the common room with a book.

She went into the room and saw Steve curled up on the sofa with the TV on almost silent. It was some infomercial about vacuum cleaners. Steve clutched the couch like it was his last grip on sanity. Darcy felt her heart break a little as she walked in, heading towards the communal kitchen.

“Hey.” She said quietly, trying not to startle him.

“Hey.” Steve murmured and Darcy noticed his blue eyes were red from crying.

“I'm making some tea. Do you want some?”

Steve nodded. Darcy put the kettle on to boil and leaned against the kitchen counter.

“How's Clint doing?” Darcy asked, folding her arms across her chest.

Steve sighed. “They got the bullet out. It missed his heart by less than two inches.” Steve shivered and Darcy had the sudden urge to hug him. “He'll recover.”

“Good.” Darcy didn't mention that she watched the live news feed of the battle and when Clint got shot, she almost ran out of the tower to go to the battle and help.

When the water boiled, Darcy poured it into two cups with tea bags. She and Steve sat on the giant couch, watching infomercials and saying nothing. They both eventually fell asleep, feet tangled together and they got a few hours of sleep before Jarvis woke them up with an update on Clint.

When Darcy still couldn't sleep the next night, she ended up in Tony's lab, watching him work on a bullet proof suit for Clint. The next night, she found Natasha in the gym and got an impromptu self-defense lesson. On the fourth night of no sleep in a row, Darcy had a hunch and brought two cups of tea to the secret communal yoga studio off of the gym. Bruce was meditating and didn't notice her right away so Darcy sat down just inside the door, sipping her tea and reading her book. When Bruce finished, he opened his eyes and looked surprised to see her sitting there.

“Darcy?”

“Hey Dr. McFluff. Hope you don't mind me joining you. I brought tea.”

Bruce accepted the tea. “Thanks. What brings you down here?”

Darcy shrugged. “Can't sleep.”

“Common problem around here.”

“Yeah, I've noticed.”

Bruce moved to sat next to her, sipping the tea.

“Does the meditation help you sleep?”

“Sometimes. Mostly, it just helps me calm down.”

“Ugh, I can't remember the last time I felt calm. I think before grad school probably or maybe before New Mexico, at least.”

“Oh, you're in grad school? What for?”

“International Relations. Why, I have no idea. I thought I could like foster world peace or something stupid like that but I'm not smart or diplomatic enough or whatever. I'm thinking about dropping out.”

“Darcy, if anyone I know could initiate world peace it would be you.”

She laughed. “Think about the people you know, Dr. McFluff. We're all crazy.”

“Maybe so but I think you have the right kind of crazy. Promise me you won't drop out.”

“I'll try my best to keep that promise.” Darcy toasted him with her tea and they clinked their cups together.

“So you wanna teach me about meditation?”

Darcy alternated visiting each of them every night that she can't sleep. After Clint got of the hospital, she found him on the roof watching the entire city for threats. She sat with him and he taught her some ASL. Darcy vowed to practice on her own. None of them can freaking sleep. Darcy thought. And they all are trying to handle it alone.

***

Darcy realized that none of them will accept outright help. She pondered how to help for a few days until the idea surfaced in her class. Darcy was pretty proud of her idea, especially when she presented it as a chance to acquaint Steve with all of the quality films he's missed out on. (The Breakfast Club, Muppets Movie, Star Wars etc.) Darcy invited all of the Avengers to the first movie night. She baked chocolate peanut butter cupcakes and popped popcorn, hoping they would all come. After the first movie night (where they watched Star Wars), all of them fall asleep around the TV for a few hours and Darcy vowed to do it every week.

After five months of living in the tower, Friday movie nights are established and everyone got a turn to pick a movie. It doesn't solve everything but the dark circles around everyone's eyes (including Darcy's) lighten up and they eat a little more and laugh a little more sincerely and smile and that is more than enough thanks for Darcy.

One night, Darcy and Bruce sat next to each other and Darcy fell asleep on him of course. She woke up a few hours later, the sun barely peeking over the horizon, and she was still curled against Bruce who was fast asleep, head pillowed on the arm of the couch and he had wrapped an arm around her. Darcy smiled and snuck a glance at the peaceful look on his face, a rare expression for any of them but so rare on Bruce's face. Darcy wanted to make it stick, make him feel safe all the time.

And that was her downfall.

She kept bringing coffee and tea down to the lab but now, she had short conversations with Bruce and he's funny, hilarious actually. She listened to him talk about science and his experiments and even about the Hulk and Darcy found she could listen to him all day. He asked her about grad school and she asked about his international travels. Their morning conversations got longer and longer until Jane had to come pry her away so he can work.

Darcy was careful to spend the same amount of time with the other Avengers that she usually does because she knew as soon as Bruce guessed her feelings, he'd probably run and Darcy didn't think she can handle it. It's becoming a problem.

 

***  


“I think I have a problem.” Darcy announced, flopping down beside Jane on her bed. Jane was knitting a scarf for Thor throughly engrossed in her task until Darcy jostled her balls of yarn and almost made her drop a stitch.

“Hey watch my balls!” Jane complained as she rescued the yarn from their precarious spots.

“I will gladly watch your balls anytime, Jane.” Darcy retorted, grinning at her best friend.

Jane rolled her eyes. “So what's your problem besides being a scarf sabotager?”

“I think I need a lobotomy or possibly a new heart or like to leave Avengers tower forever I don't know.”

“Alright, that narrows it down.”

Darcy sighed. “I have an inconvenient crush.”

“Is it Steve?”

Darcy blinked. “No. is that why everyone has been trying to get us alone?”

Jane averted her eyes.

“You all have a betting pool going don't you?”

“No...”

“You are a horrible liar, Jane. I can't believe you all bet on my love life! I thought we were friends.”

“We are friends. We're just the kind of friends that attempt to make money off of each others love lives.”

“But I can't make any money off of yours! We already know how that's going to end with you the queen of Asgard or whatever. Unfair advantage!”

Jane had the grace to look embarrassed. “We didn't mean to bet on it. It just kind of happened.”

Darcy glared at her. “Was it Tony's idea? It was, wasn't it?”

“He thinks you're in love with Steve.”

“Ha, no way. Steve is like my sweet older brother. I couldn't date him, it would be weird.”

“That's what I said but he has $100 on you hooking up with him before the end of the summer.”

“Bastard!” Darcy swore. “What about everyone else?”

“Clint and Tony bet on Steve, Natasha and Sam bet on Clint, Steve put money on Tony believe it or not. Pepper and Bruce refused to get involved but Pepper said that she would bet on Natasha if she were a gambling woman.”

“I knew I liked Pepper for a reason. Who did you put money on?” Darcy asked, narrowing her eyes.

“I didn't bet any money, I just threw in my opinion.”

“And what opinion was that?”

“I said I thought you liked Clint. I mean, you hang around him a lot and you seem pretty friendly.”

“At least I should be grateful I'm not obvious.” Darcy muttered.

Jane glanced over at her. “If it's not any of them then who....?” She trailed off and then turned to gape at Darcy. “No way!”

“Yes way.” Darcy groaned, burying her face in a pillow. “I told you I had a problem.”

Jane set aside her knitting and reached out to pat Darcy's arm. “Well, you did always have interesting taste in men.”

“I am so screwed.”

“I wouldn't say that but I am kind of surprised. I would never have guessed you had a crush on Bruce and I feel like I know you pretty well by now.”

“I know, he is different but ugh Jane, he's so smart and hilarious and _adorable_. I never get tired of talking to him, he's so interesting. And he totally loves Pacific Northwest indie rock as much as me so there is that.”

“Haha, you're particularly soulmates.” Jane rolled her eyes but took Darcy's hands.

“Darcy, I'm dating an alien from another world so I know I am a hypocrite lecturing you on the dangers of dating an avenger. A lot about dating Thor sucks big time. He's gone a lot and his chance of dying is still pretty high, despite the whole Asgardian thing. He's not always the most reliable person and a lot of times, he doesn't understand how I think. I am not saying it's a bad idea to get involved with Bruce or really any of the avengers but it brings it's own set of challenges and you have to decide if you can deal with them. Promise me no matter what choice you make, you'll think about it hard OK. Don't just jump in like me and expect everything to be sunshine and roses.”

Darcy nodded. “I promise.” and she reached out to embrace her friend. “I am so lucky to have you around, you know.”

“Actually, I think I am the lucky one.” Jane smiled. “Now, if you are going to stay in here, you have to hold my balls.”

***

 

 

Darcy felt like she should have considered the large open windows that face into Bruce's lab across the hall before she and Jane had an impromptu Friday dance party.

They were aggressively rapping “No Scrubs” at the top of their lungs, which was on the playlist they made entitled “Darcy and Jane's badass science jams” (which incidentally included no songs about science in any way) when Bruce knocked lightly on the door. Darcy didn't hear it over Left Eye and Bruce just pushed the door open and leaned against it, grinning at them until the song is over. Darcy turned around and almost dropped the beaker she was using as a microphone.

“Hello Bruce.” Jane greeted him, smirking at Darcy and it took all of her self-control not to blush.

“Hey, you're just in time to celebrate Friday with us!”

Bruce laughed. “I can see you guys are getting as much work done as I am.”

“You're better at faking work than us by far.”

“Don't worry, I won't tell Tony.”

“He would just come in here and try to override our jams.”

“You're safe, I think JARVIS likes you both better. And speaking of Tony, he and I are leaving for a conference this afternoon. We'll be back in two weeks so try not to wreck the lab at least any more than Tony does.”

Jane perked up at the word conference. “Oooh which one?”

“An engineering conference. Otherwise, we would have invited you, Jane.”

“It's cool. I'll probably drag Darcy to some IEEE conferences next year.”

“Cool, I guess that will be my vacation.”

Darcy tried not to look sad at no Bruce for two weeks. “So this means you are going to miss two movie nights. So you and Tony have to watch the movies I picked before you come back. We're watching Holy Grail and The Birds. I want a full report on my desk upon your arrival and no cheating with imdb.”

“OK, I promise Tony and I will stick with the schedule.” Bruce teased.

“You better.” Darcy teased back and on an impulse, she gave Bruce a quick kiss on the cheek. “Enjoy your science bro time!”

Bruce blushed. “Thanks, Darcy.” He left and Darcy turned back to Jane, who was raising an eyebrow at her.

“Shut up.” Darcy muttered.

 

Darcy was ashamed at how mopey she was that night. Natasha, Clint, and Steve joined her and Jane for movie night. She tried to hide it as she attempted to get comfortable on the couch. Finally, after shifting around for ten minutes, Clint rolled his eyes at her.

“Jeez, Darcy.” He got up off the floor and sat on the couch, letting Darcy curl against him. Natasha moved over to lean against the couch in front of Clint and he rested his hand on her shoulder. Jane sighed, got up from her armchair, grabbed Steve's hand from where he sat on the floor and pulled him over to the couch. She sat down on Darcy's other side and Steve cradled Jane in his arms like she was made of glass. Jane pulled his arms tighter around her and Darcy reached over so she could lay a hand over Steve's, while Jane rested her hand underneath his.

“Better?” Jane asked.

Darcy nodded.

“Are you OK?” Steve asked, squeezing her hand.

“I'm fine.” Darcy sighed.

“Bruce is away.” Natasha answered, grabbing the popcorn bowl from the coffee table.

“I hate living with spies.” Darcy grumbled.

“You love us.” Clint grinned at her.

“Stop hogging the popcorn.”

***

Darcy did mope way too much for her taste. She had grad school, feeding Jane, educating Steve and self-defense with Natasha to take up more than enough of her time but she found herself missing the morning conversations and meditation sessions (Bruce was making a concerted effort to teach her how to properly meditate and Darcy sucked at it but she liked hanging out with him so she kept it up.)

Friday night rolled around and Darcy was not looking forward to another night of feeling sorry for herself. Steve, Clint and Natasha were called away on a mission so it was just her and Jane around.

“Wanna quit the science and go get drinks? I can't take one more second in this stupid tower.”

“Hell yes.” Jane replied and threw off her lab coat.

They showered, changed clothes and went to their favorite bar in New York, a small local place with good food and a good beer selection. Contrary to popular belief, Darcy was a bit of a beer snob as evidenced in her love for IPA's. Jane, on the other hand, was more of a wine person because she was classy. They ate dinner and had a few drinks and then went to their favorite club, where they danced until well past one in the morning and somehow managed to flag a cab down despite being completely, ridiculously drunk.

Darcy hadn't been this drunk since college, the undergrad version. But at least she was with Jane, the person she trusted more than anyone else.

“Love you so much.” Darcy murmured against Jane's shoulder as the cab took them back to Avengers tower.

“Love you too.” Jane patted Darcy's head.

“Let's be best friends forever.”

“Ok, I'll have our bracelets made up right away.”

“Fuck yeah.” Darcy said and then she passed out.

 

 

 

Darcy spent the next week busting her ass to finish all of the grad school assignments she'd been putting off. Jane let her take two days off from the lab to finish them. She managed to keep herself busy enough that she didn't have time to mope around and so when Darcy walked into the lab on Monday morning to see Jane and Bruce talking about the conference, she almost dropped the coffees she'd brought.

“Bruce!” Darcy exclaimed, setting the coffees on a table, dropping her bag on the floor and scurrying over to him, flinging her arms around him before he could react.

“I missed you!”

“Darcy, I missed you too.” Bruce said, bewildered and raised his arms to gingerly return the hug.

Darcy let go and stepped back, smiling at him. “How was the conference? Did you learn a lot?”

“He was just trying to tell me about it before you ran in here.” Jane teased with a smug grin.

“Well, now he can tell both of us. Oh shit, I forgot to bring tea.” Darcy groaned. “My head is not on straight this week. Or last week. Or ever. Let's blame grad school.”

“It's alright. I already had tea this morning before I came over here. Actually, I have something for you Darcy.” Bruce rummaged in his messenger bag and pulled out a stack of stapled papers. “Here are those reports you asked for.”

“Are these for movie nights?”

“Yes, I didn't want to fall behind. Anyway, I am late for a meeting so I'll see you both later.” Bruce smiled and left.

Darcy stared at the papers in her hand. “He's trying to kill me.”

Movie nights keep expanding to include more people. Maria Hill and Phil Coulson are infrequent guests but always greeted enthusiastically when they are there. Steve invited his new friend, Sam who Darcy instantly loved (how could you not really) and after a wild goose chase all over the world, his childhood best friend was back from the dead. Darcy added extra chairs which she stole from adjacent rooms but everyone ends up wrapped around each other anyway.

Usually, Pepper and Tony sit on each other's laps in an arm chair. Clint curls up in another armchair, Natasha leaning back against his legs and he's usually got his hands on her shoulders massaging out the knots. Bucky (who Darcy calls James because she can't refer to a grown man as Bucky with a straight face.) is sandwiched between Steve and Sam, the three of them tangled together like puppies. With Steve nuzzling his neck and Sam pressing kisses to the fingers of his metal arm, Bucky looks almost in awe at where his life has ended up now. Thor and Jane are wrapped around each other as usual in another armchair. Maria and Phil, when they are there sit next to each other on the floor making jokes and sharing super spy secrets. And Darcy of course is sitting in the middle of the couch with Bruce on the end against the arm. They start off at respectable distances but after two or three hours, Darcy attempts to casually use him as a pillow. He obliges her most of the time and sometimes, she can get him to put his arm around her. He's very careful about touching people and most of the team is in turn careful, except for Tony and now, Darcy. Now that Steve is officially off of Tony's radar as a potential boyfriend for Darcy, he's finally wising up to her and she is a little nervous about it. He eyes her across the room and she knows she is going to get a don't you dare hurt my science bro speech pretty soon. Also, Pepper keeps giving her strange looks too.

Yeah, now she's really nervous.

 

 

 

 

One weekday morning, Jane decided to take a day off from the lab and being free of her assistant duties, Darcy slept in and ended up in the communal kitchen much later than usual. When she stumbled in around 10am, Sam Wilson aka Sexy Bird as Darcy refers to him in her mind was making coffee.

“I will love you forever if you brew me a cup, Sexy Bird.” Darcy said before her brain to mouth filter can kick in.

“Sexy Bird?” Sam replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Sorry, I have no brain to mouth filter before coffee.”

Sam smiled. “It's OK. I forgive you.”

“How are you liking the Tower so far? Did Tony buy something over the top expensive yet to get you to stay?”

Sam laughed. “He is fixing and upgrading my wings for me.”

“Yep, that is his version of sweet talking. He built a lab for Jane to use, gave her a job, and publicly backs all of her research. He also is paying me out the shit to basically get coffee for scientists and help with whatever research they're doing. It's a sweet deal.”

Sam has only lived here for a few weeks and this is the first time she has seen him outside of movie night. Darcy really needed to get out of the lab more. And probably drag Jane out too. And Bruce while she was at it. Which reminded her.

Darcy shimmied onto one of the kitchen bar chairs and grabbed a banana from the bowl on the counter. (she can eat healthy things! Sometimes.)

“Sam can I ask you a personal question? And not like you need my permission but you don't have to answer it.”

Sam tilted his head, considering her. “OK...”

“So you're dating two super solider avenger types right?”

“Yes...” Sam said, leaning against the counter.

“How do you deal with that? Dating an avenger, I mean.”

Sam busied himself with pouring coffee into two mugs as he thought about her question.

“I don't know, I mean it's scary sometimes but I was in the military. I jumped out of planes. I was out in the field saving people's lives so you know, I can relate to that drive to help. It's stressful but at least with those two it's a two way street. We can worry about each other. It takes the guilt off.”

“What about like a superhero dating some totally normal not military not super buff person...”

“Darcy, anybody superhero or not would be lucky to date you.”

“You're too sweet, Sam but I get the feeling that people think I'm a little naive, including the person I like. I've seen so much shit in the past few years and it's been stressful and crazy and weird but also wonderful and amazing. I finally have a real family and I don't want to go back to my normal life. I want to help all of you. I probably am naïve for wanting to be in the middle of this crazy but there is no where else I'd rather be.”

Sam smiled at her. “I'm right there with you.”

 

 

It was only a matter of time before Darcy met the Hulk. She was downtown one Saturday getting coffee with Jane when chaos roared through the street in the form of aliens. Without thinking about how stupid an idea it was, Darcy ran out of the coffee shop to watch as the Avengers fought against the aliens, who did not come in peace it seemed and in fact came in destruction and violence.

Darcy heard Jane yelling after her as she ran towards the battle and Darcy thought 'this is one of the worst ideas I've ever had.'

She stopped after a few blocks in complete awe as the Avengers did what they do best. She could see Iron Man flying around in his suit and she could just make out Hawkeye on top of a building. She saw Black Widow and Captain America on the ground kicking ass. A giant green blur roared in the distance and Darcy relaxed a little until what felt like a second later, the green blur was right next to her and Darcy forgot how to breathe.

“FUNNY LADY NOT SAFE HERE.” Hulk roared above her and it took Darcy a moment to realize that she was funny lady.

“Oh hey Hulk, how's the battle going?”

“FUNNY LADY GO BACK TO METAL MAN TOWER. TAKE STAR LADY.”

“Star lady? Oh, you mean Jane. Hey Jane did you hear that? You're star lady.”

“NOT SAFE.” Hulk repeated, staring at her like she was batshit crazy. Which was probably true.

“Ok, will you be alright?”

Hulk looked confused for a moment. “HULK ALWAYS ALRIGHT. HULK PROTECT BANNER. SMASH PUNY ALIENS.”

Darcy nodded. “I can see you have it under control. I'll leave you to it.”

“FUNNY LADY PROMISE GO BACK TO TOWER.”

“Yeah, I promise.”

Hulk nodded and bounded off towards the battle.

“Whoa.” Jane gasped.  
“Let's go back to the tower.” Darcy murmured and they hurried back.

 

Later, Bruce came down to the lab still looking exhausted from the transformation.

“What are you doing down here?You should be resting.” Darcy asked.

“Tony said he saw the Hulk talking to you and Jane. I wanted to make sure you were both OK.”

“We're fine. He just wanted to protect us.”

“Protect you?”

“Yeah, he made me promise to go back to the tower. He called me funny lady.” Darcy grinned. “He's right, I am hysterical.”

“Darcy, you could have gotten hurt. I could never live with myself if I hurt you or Jane.”

“We're both fine. Hulk would never hurt us.”

“You can't know that.”

“Maybe but seeing as he had a perfect opportunity to smash both of us today and instead he wanted to make sure we were safe, I think I can make an educated guess.”

“Darcy...”

Darcy shook her head. “You're too hard on yourself, Bruce. You're not the terrible person you want to make yourself.”

“I don't want to make myself that way, I am terrible. I'm dangerous.”

“Well, I'll keep telling you otherwise until you believe me.”

“You're going to be saying it for a long time, then.”

Bruce turned away from her and left the lab, shaking his head.

 

 

In all of his rich white man wisdom, Tony decided to throw a big party to celebrate Stark Industries great stride's in clean energy and humanitarian efforts since he had stopped making weapons. Which meant all of the Avengers were invited plus Darcy, Jane, James and Sam who were honorary Avengers as Tony put it.

“Awesome!” Darcy exclaimed when Tony delivered the invitation in person. “Jane, be my date! Oh, no wait , Thor is visiting.”

“You can go with Thor and I.” Jane suggested.

“Thor does not need to walk into any room with two ladies on his arms. It's not right. Hey Bruce!”

“No!” Bruce called from across the hall.

“You don't even know what I am going to ask yet!”

“I'm not going to the party. I don't like parties.”

“Oh please be my date, Bruce! I've never been to a Tony Stark party.”

“You don't want to go; they are awful.”

“if by awful, you mean fabulous, then you would be right!” Tony called.

“Don't listen to him, Darcy. He's trying to fill your head with lies.”

“Oh, come on, Bruce!” Darcy whined. “I want to see you in a suit. I bet you look hot.”

“He does.” Tony agreed.

“You're not helping, Tony.” Bruce complained.

“Oh Jolly Green, a beautiful woman just asked you to a fancy party honoring your invaluable contributions to a company that pays you out the shit if I may borrow a phrase from said beautiful woman to basically research whatever you want and you are complaining? Honestly, I should just fire you right now.”

“Tony-” Bruce started, blushing.

“Nope, your research and developments have provided clean water for millions of people plus you were a huge help with the clean energy technology so no oh Tony-ing me, OK. We're honoring Jane too so you both have to be there.”

“Really?” Jane piped up.

“Of course, your work in astrophysics is unparalleled, Jane. ”

“Hell yes it is.” Darcy chimed in and she and Jane high fived.

“So Darcy you were asking Bruce before I rudely interrupted?” Tony needled.

Darcy rolled her eyes but walked into the other lab anyway because fuck yes she really wanted to see Bruce in a suit.

“Come on, Bruce! It'll be fun!” Darcy turned on her best puppy dog face.

“OK, Darcy but I'm not doing this for you, Tony!” Bruce called into the other room.

Tony smirked. “Oh, don't worry, I'm well aware you aren't.”

***

 

Darcy was making coffee in the communal kitchen when Natasha dropped out of the air vent and scared the shit out of her.

“Damnit, Natasha there's a door!”

“I have to keep you on your toes.”

“Believe me, I already am. What brings you to the kitchen? Is it for breakfast? Is that a thing super spies are into?”

“Tony Stark's party. You're going with Bruce, aren't you?”

“So Bruce is bragging to everyone then?”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Overheard Tony and Pepper talking. They're planning their don't-you-hurt-my-friend speeches.”

Darcy nodded. “Sounds about right. So did you come to tell me how stupid I'm being?”

“Nope, I came to take you dress shopping. If you're going to do this right, you have to bring your A game Lewis.”

“Fair enough but Jane should come too.”

“Oh don't worry, I'm bringing friends as well.”

 

Natasha's friends turned out to be Pepper herself and Clint. Darcy was not amused. Well, maybe a little. Mostly intimidated because Pepper.

Their first stop was a high end vintage store in Williamsburg where Darcy looked at a price tag and flinched. “Umm, I know I get paid a lot to get coffee and stuff but I just can't spend $300 on a dress. It's against my principles. Also my budget.”

“Don't worry about it, I'm putting it on Tony's credit card.”

“Ok..?” As much as Darcy liked to screw around with Tony, she didn't have warm and fuzzy feelings about spending his money on shoes and dresses. Well, maybe not like a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings. Maybe like one or two. Or ten.

“It's his fault you all need to get dressed up. It counts as a business expense.”

“Have I mentioned that I love you?” Darcy asked.

Pepper grinned. “Darcy, I really like you. I am glad you and Jane are working for SI and doing such amazing work.”

“Me too. I'm really grateful especially for what you've both done for Jane. It's so wonderful to see people other than me believing in her and her work.”

Darcy turned to meet Pepper's eyes. “Listen, Ms. Potts, I want you to know I'm serious about Bruce.”

“Oh please, call me Pepper. Bruce is very dear to Tony and I. I don't want to seem him hurt.”

“I know. I really like him and I'm not a bullshitter. If you have a problem with me dating him, I would rather talk about it now.”

“Technically, since Bruce isn't your boss or involved with your work, there are no problems. I just...he's an avenger, Darcy. Do you know what you're getting into?”

Darcy laughed. “I've seen so much weird shit in the past few years. I am just here for the ride. And if along the way, I met a super cute scientist with fluffy hair who laughs at my dumb jokes and doesn't think I am absolutely insane for trying to save the world, who actually wants to try and save it with me, then I'm all the better for it.”

Pepper considered her for a moment. “I think green would be a good color for you.”

 

Dress shopping takes forever and Darcy tries on like 100 dresses. She would feel ridiculous about that if Jane and Natasha hadn't also played dress up with her. They finally settled on an emerald green sheath dress for Darcy and black heels threaded with ribbon that matched the dress. Jane wore a blue dress that flared out at the waist and showed off her fabulous tits as Darcy claimed. Natasha went for a black lacy sheath dress with no back that made Clint blink a lot as she smirked at him over her shoulder. Darcy can practically feel Pepper planning out the perfect hair and make up for each of them as they model their final selections. Darcy didn't bother looking at the price tag.

 

 

In the next two weeks before the party, Darcy tried to play it cool with Bruce, failed miserably in the first hour and instead spent all day staring at him and trying not to let him catch her staring.

“God, you're even worse than usual.” Jane complained as they packed up the lab early for the day so they could go get ready.

“Why do I get the feeling Dr. McFluff is going to bail on me?” Darcy asked as they both retreated to Jane's floor.

“Because it's kind of his M.O.? Stay for awhile, leave in the night.”

“What if he's already decided that I'm not worthy of squishy uncomfortable feelings and he's on a plane to India as we speak?”

“JARVIS?”

“Yes, Ms. Foster?”

“Is Dr. Banner on his way to India?”

“Not as far as I am aware, Ms. Foster. He went suit shopping yesterday with Mr. Stark and the Captain.”

“Thank you, JARVIS.”

“You are very welcome, Ms. Foster.”

Jane turned to Darcy. “Feel better?”

“Maybe a little.” Darcy smiled to herself as she hurried into Jane's bathroom for a shower.

 

 

The ball was being held at a super fancy ballroom downtown that Tony had probably paid a million dollars to rent for a night. Two limos waited outside to take them to the party. Darcy and Jane went down to the lobby to wait for their respective dudes.

Darcy almost fainted when she saw Bruce emerge out of the elevator.

“Damn, I was right about you and suits.” She blurted out as he approached her, blushing but grinning.

“You are beautiful.” Bruce said and Darcy smiled, knowing she cleaned up pretty well too. At least according to Jane. She'd worn her hair down and falling in waves over her shoulders and ruby red lipstick which she left on Bruce's cheek a little when she kissed it. He held out an arm and she linked her arm through his. The elevator dinged and the rest of their limo party: Thor, Tony and Pepper emerged.

Pepper was her usual stunning self in white sheath dress with gold beading. The six of them slid into the limo. Steve, Natasha, Clint, James and Sam had left a few minutes earlier.

 

“Are my two favorite scientists ready to get honored and all that jazz?”

Jane grinned. “I am not going to lie. It's nice to be recognized for my work.”

Bruce nodded. “I am usually recognized for being giant and green so I agree.”

“It is a glorious occasion. I am glad to be present to honor the noble work of my lady Jane and her fellow scientist.” Thor enthused, gently squeezing Jane's hand.

 

When they arrived at the party, Tony got out of the limo first with Pepper, wrapping an arm around her waist and strolling towards the front entrance, waving at paparazzi and photographers. Jane and Thor followed them, Thor waving and looking confused that anyone would be taking pictures of him. Darcy took a deep breath and tightened her arm around Bruce.

They hurried past the photographers, the flashing lights and shouted questions very disorienting. She was glad to get inside of the ballroom. It was already crowded and when Tony arrived, everyone descended upon him; bombarding both him and Pepper with questions. They were both good at smiling and answering all of them; Tony with his usual snark and Pepper with tact.

Darcy, Bruce, Jane, and Thor took the opportunity to escape past them and join Sam, James, Clint, and Natasha at a table.

“Where's Steve?” Jane asked as Thor pulled a chair out for her.

“He got kidnapped by reporters. He and Tony always do.” Sam gestured to Steve turning on his Captain America charm for a group of pre-selected journalists. Tony was very careful about his guest lists, especially when he and the other Avengers were targets of so many organizations.Darcy found Bruce's hand under the table and laced their fingers together.

The ball went by in a blur. Bruce and Jane are honored and Darcy cheered for both of them embarrassingly loud but she didn't care all that much. Darcy amused herself through most of it by flirting with Bruce and trying to get him to dance.

It was still relatively early when the Avengers plus their respective dates decided to sneak out. The party was just starting to wind down; the guests drunk on free alcohol and stuffed with free food. The limos waited in the back of the ballroom and all of 11 of them plus Maria Hill and Phil Coulson snuck out to go back to Avengers tower for an impromptu movie night.

Darcy was a little tipsy but not embarrassingly so though she definitely made sure to sit next to Bruce in the limo so she could lean against his shoulder. He reached for her hand and she put it in his, entwining their fingers. 

 

What was meant to be an impromptu movie night turned into a impromptu dance party. First, Tony broke out his massive alcohol collection and then, Bucky was trying to explain how to swing dance to Sam who was laughing at picturing Steve trying to do it and Steve was arguing that he could so do it actually he's taken dance lessons since the 40's thanks very much and of course Bucky dared him to show them and now [a song that Darcy vaguely recognized](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Xtl22x5Sg) started playing and surprisingly Steve got up and took Bucky's hand with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Everyone cheered as Steve swung Bucky around and as the song ended, Steve pulled Bucky close and kissed him fiercely. Bucky grinned at him and the two of them disappeared to the back of the common room.

And after that song requests were shouted out to JARVIS. “Beyonce, JARVIS.” Darcy yelled louder than everyone because she was talented like that and Jane was a little drunk and seconded it and Partition started playing which was Darcy's song kryptonite and they both put down the bottle of tequila they were sharing and danced together which involved Jane running her hands up Darcy's legs and Darcy shaking her butt against Jane's thighs.

“Nicki next!” Jane yelled, taking a huge swig of tequila.

“What have we unleashed.” Natasha muttered.

JARVIS obliged her with Anaconda.

Darcy danced for a long time, mostly with Jane. She danced with Sam to Marvin Gaye and Steve to Ella Fitzgerald and Natasha and Clint and James and Thor and even Phil danced with her. Darcy had danced with everyone except Bruce and she was getting cranky about it.

“Bruceeeeee!” Darcy whined. “Dance with me! JARVIS put on something pretty.”

“At Last” started playing and Darcy took his hand and pulled him up. Bruce reluctantly let her and he put his hands on her waist, swaying gently to the music. Darcy draped her arms over his shoulders and smiled up at him.

“You're so fluffy, Dr. McFluff.”

“You are very drunk, Darcy.”

“Doesn't mean you're not fluffy.” Darcy tilted her head back a little to meet his eyes. “We should totally date. We are so hot together.”

Bruce laughed, his breath stirring her hair.

“Darcy, you are too drunk to start this conversation.”

“Then can we have it in the morning?”

Bruce met her eyes. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Darcy leaned up and kissed his cheek. “I like you a lot, Dr. McFluff. And that is not the alcohol talking. For the most part.”

“I like you a lot too, Darcy.”

“I'm proud of you for being a super genius scientist.” Darcy yawned and rested her head on Bruce's shoulder.

“We should get you to bed.”

Jane was asleep on Thor and he was stroking her hair as he talked with Tony. Natasha and Clint had bailed a while ago, probably to have crazy assassin sex. Steve and James hadn't let go of each other's hands all night and they were attempting to maneuver Sam to bed who looked content leaning on Steve's shoulder with his arm linked around Bucky's. “Comfy super soldiers.” Darcy heard him mutter.

Maria was asleep in an armchair. Pepper and Phil were talking quietly in the couch near Tony.

Darcy let Bruce lead her out of the common room and to the elevator.

“What's your floor?”

“35”

Darcy nuzzled Bruce's neck and sighed contently. “Sleep with me.”

“What?”

“You're so cozy. I promise I won't try anything until we talk.”

“Darcy, I wouldn't do anything with you right now. You are very, very drunk. And it's better if I sleep on the couch.”

“No, bed. The couch is not comfortable.”

Bruce sighed. “Fine.”

Darcy managed to change into comfy pajamas and brush her teeth before climbing into bed. Bruce stripped down to his boxers, borrowed Darcy's spare toothbrush to brush his teeth and crawled into bed.

Darcy closes the space between them, throwing an arm across his back and draping a leg over one of his legs.

“Goodnight, Bruce.”

“Goodnight, Darcy.”

 

Darcy woke up the next morning to dark fluffy hair close to her face and she breathed in the scent of his hair, faintly spicy and she cuddled closer, pressing her face against his bare back. Her head throbbed and

she closed her eyes.

“Darcy?”

“Mmph.” Darcy replied, not bothering to lift her face from his back.

“Feeling good huh?”

“Mmph.” Darcy stuck with her original response.

“Let me up and I'll get you some painkillers.”

Darcy untangled her feet from his and Bruce stumbled out of bed and came back a few minutes later with a cool glass of water and two pills. Darcy swallowed them and curled against Bruce again as he climbed back into bed.

“Not up for movement right now?”

Darcy shook her head. She was pretty sure if she moved too fast she would throw up. Bruce shifted, turning around to face her. He ran his fingers through her hair, gently massaging her head and Darcy fell asleep again.

When she woke up two hours later, she felt much better. Bruce was sitting up in bed, reading a book.

He set down his book and glanced over at her. “How are you feeling?”

“Thirsty.”

Bruce got her a glass of ice water and Darcy drank it with relish.

“Much better.”

Bruce smiled. “Good.”

“What time is it?”

“Around 10. I think the team is going to brunch in a little bit if you want to join them.”

“Sounds good.” Darcy stretched.

“So you're quite the dancer.”

“Tequila and I are not friends.”

“You seemed pretty close last night.” Bruce teased. “You're an exceptional woman, Darcy Lewis.”

“Are you making fun of me, sir?” Darcy poked him in the side.

“Never.” Bruce turned towards her, cupping her cheek with one hand. “I am so glad I met you, Darcy. You are incredible.”

Darcy blushed. “Why Dr. McFluff, you sure know how to flatter a girl.”

Bruce leaned forward and kissed her. “You make it easy, Lewis.”

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Probably a playlist or two will accompany this story in the future. 
> 
> Darcy's dress-  
> http://www.missydressesau.com/nice-dark-green-sheath-tea-length-off-the-shoulder-dress.html
> 
> Jane's dress-http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/aisle-be-there-dress-in-dragonfly
> 
> Natasha's dress- front- http://www.accentclothing.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/6/3/63893_womens_kev_dress_lace_backless__003_1.jpg 
> 
> back- http://www.accentclothing.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/6/3/63893_womens_kev_dress_lace_backless__006_1.jpg


End file.
